科学家发现了第一种外星蛋白质

科学家发现了第一种外星蛋白质

Scientists say they have discovered the first known protein that originated in space, located in a meteorite that fell to Earth 30 years ago.

科学家表示，他们在30年前坠落到地球的陨石中，发现了首个已知的起源于太空的蛋白质。

The meteorite, known as Acfer 086, hit Algeria 30 years ago and contains the protein hemolithin. Inside the hemolithin are iron and lithium, two building blocks for life, the researchers said in the study located on the arXiv repository.

这颗陨石名为Acfer 086，30年前袭击阿尔及利亚，含有血石蛋白。研究人员在位于arXiv储存库的研究中说，血石中含有铁和锂，这是生命的两种基本元素。

“Analysis of the complete spectrum of isotopes associated with each molecular fragment shows 2H enhancements above terrestrial averaging 25,700 parts per thousand (sigma = 3,500, n=15), confirming extra-terrestrial origin and hence the existence of this molecule within the asteroid parent body of the CV3 meteorite class,” the study’s abstract states. “The molecule is tipped by an iron-oxygen-iron grouping that in other terrestrial contexts has been proposed to be capable of absorbing photons and splitting water into hydroxyl and hydrogen moieties.”

“对与每个分子碎片相关的同位素全谱的分析表明，在地球平均每千25700个部分(sigma=3500，n=15)之上增加了2个小时，证实了地球外的起源，从而证实了这一分子在CV3陨石类小行星母体中的存在，“研究的抽象状态。“该分子由铁-氧-铁组合而成，在其他地球环境中，该组合被认为能够吸收光子并将水分解为羟基和氢部分。”

Acfer 086 was discovered in 1990 and has a mass of 173 grams, according to The Meteorological Society.

根据气象学会的数据，Acfer 086于1990年被发现，质量为173克。

In an interview with ScienceAlert, astronomer and chemist Chenoa Tremblay said it’s believed that proteins are “likely to exist in space,” but this would be the first evidence of such.

天文学家和化学家Chenoa Tremblay在接受ScienceAlert的采访时说，人们认为蛋白质“可能存在于太空中”，但这将是这方面的第一个证据。

“So we’re pretty sure that proteins are likely to exist in space,” Tremblay, who was not involved in the study, told ScienceAlert. “But if we can actually start finding evidence of their existence and what some of the structures and the common structures might be, I think that’s really interesting and exciting.”

“所以我们很确定蛋白质很可能存在于太空中，”没有参与这项研究的特雷姆布雷告诉《科学快讯》。“但如果我们真的能找到它们存在的证据，以及其中一些结构和常见结构可能是什么，我认为这真的很有趣，也很令人兴奋。”

Because the hemolithin in Acfer 086 has a similar structure to proteins on Earth and its ratio of hydrogen to isotope deterium is similar to that seen in the Oort cloud, it’s believed it could have formed nearly 4.6 billion years ago, in the proto-solar disk, the Daily Mail reports.

据英国《每日邮报》报道，由于Acfer 086中的血石具有与地球上蛋白质相似的结构，其氢同位素测定值与奥尔特云中的相似，因此人们认为它可能是在46亿年前的原太阳盘中形成的。

A study was published in October 2019 that suggested the second interstellar object ever discovered, Comet 2I/Borisov, could be carrying water on it from beyond the solar system, releasing water vapor on its journey.

2019年10月发表的一项研究表明，迄今发现的第二颗星际物体2I/Borisov彗星可能携带着太阳系以外的水，在其旅程中释放出水蒸气。

A separate study published in 2018 suggested that cometlike objects could be “ferrying” microbial life across thousands of light-years.

2018年发表的另一项研究表明，彗星状物体可能在数千光年内“运送”微生物生命。